empathy machine

Empathy MachineWorkbook 1

By Cameron Poole

Researchers conducting studies on childhood have become increasingly interested in learning from what children have to say about the way of the world.

I’m interested in learning what children have to say about learning. What leads to learning? What impedes it? These questions guide my research and the following ideas are meant to engage children in responding to these questions through storytelling in various forms.

individual chalkboards for quick story creation

Draw your story!

Collecting Storiesin wooden boxes

A series of boxes created or inspired by Joseph Cornell (1903-1972)

Yayayaya! AAAARGH

Masks with digital audio as props

To-pop Lists

beginningprotagonist

suddenly

The end

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title

setting

maincharacters

plot

risingaction

fallingaction

dialogues

flashbacks

back storiesdescription

narration

supportingcharacters

author

Key

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papier mache table

stories

News stories can be read, cut up, and

reconstructed into new stories created by

the children on tabletops

specifically designed to be covered in these pasted narratives.

Pocket ParablesSmall tales about tiny people written on wee bits of paper and kept in pocket-sized containers for easy storage.

Breaking up the routine via mandala templates providing blank spaces for comic book stories while polar graph paper becomes a sight for simple non-linear brainstorming.

Grumbles the Cat

Versions of You

Props for performances that capture children’s spontaneous reactions to questions about learning.

Object Theatre

Take a photo of where you do homework

Photo Stories

Teensy Weensy Therapist

“When we invited children touse SAGE, children created storytellers as projections of fears, feelings, interests, and role models. These projections allowed the presentation of the self to themselves as well as to others. One child, for example, built a storyteller called ’Big Orange Fox’ who tells stories about hard things that have happened to him in response to problems that the story writerdescribes.” - Cassell, J. & Ryokai, K. (2001). Making Space for Voice: Technologies to Support

Children’s Fantasy and Storytelling. Persoal Technologies 5(3): 203-224.

The ChakrasChildren can decide which of the seven colours correspond with different parts of the body and why they feel this way with the following questions.

I understand...______________________________________________________________________

I see... ______________________________________________________________________

I speak...______________________________________________________________________

I love...______________________________________________________________________

I do...______________________________________________________________________

I feel...______________________________________________________________________

I am...______________________________________________________________________

Sensitive Sculptures

Give students strange objects with different textures and colors. Ask them to describe what they experience while holding the object.

“There’s nothing as cozy as a piece of candy and a book.” - Betty MacDonald

Candy Popping

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itis

nervousness

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sick hampster

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am lo

sing

misplacing your favourite toy

annoying siblings

Non-literate Expression

Putting paintbrush to canvas to create abstract and expressive stories while recording students as they talk about their work and respond to questions about the process.

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Children can describe worlds different from their own by imagining letter correspondence between themselves and a creature from this strange place.

Dear Chalula,

My name is Violet and I’m from Earth, I’m curious about what you do for fun? On my planet, we like to ride bikes in the park. I heard that everyone drinks fruit juice all the time on Zenova.

Write back soon!

Kind regards, Violet Perkin

Violet PerkinPlanet Earth

Letters from afar

Fictions for Emotions

Why is this toaster sad?

Who or what made skeleton robot angry?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Someone stole his tennis shoes so now he can’t play with his friends.. He also fell and hurt his knee yesterday.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

He has no friends and his mom fed all the bread to the pigeons.

Why is this dog confused?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

He doesn’t understand English.

A clutter of voices

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Imagining dialogue among inanimate objects can be great inspiration for young storytellers

yodel-ay-heeyodel-ay-heeyodel-ay-hee-hoo

Old man sitting by the side

of the road with the lorreys rolling by. Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load and the buildings scrape

the sky.

I need to google a cake recipe for Jo’s

birthday.

uh . . .

The Time Capsule

A time capsule could be a great inspiration for children’s stories. They could pick and choose the objects to include in the fictional capsule and create a story about its imaginary owner.

Cartography

Making maps to explore the possibility for new worlds waiting to be discovered

Poetry PromptsChildren’s poems, for example, those written by Shel Silverstein, seen on the right, could be inspirational for children as they write their own stories.